Sanskriti School of Dance Presents Shweta Prachande: An Evening of Bharatanatyam

The opportunity to experience a full Bharatanatyam margam is rare in the United States, where performances often present selections from the classical repertoire rather than the traditional progression in its entirety.

Shweta Prachande’s recital offered an opportunity to engage with the margam in its fullest form. Moving between devotional expression, intricate rhythmic passages, and narrative interpretation, her program brought together compositions from the traditional repertoire.

Shweta opened the recital with Devi, a composition drawing on verses from Adi Shankaracharya’s Saundarya Lahari, set to music by Rajkumar Bharati. The composition explored the multifaceted manifestations of the Divine Mother, from her formidable and fierce forms to her more benevolent and serene expressions. The transitions between softer, more graceful movements and those marked by greater intensity gave each portrayal a distinct character. The piece established a compelling opening to the recital, marked by a distinct compositional note with lines recited both via spoken and lyrical form.

Following Devi, Shweta presented Sami Ninne Kori, a traditional Ragamallika varnam composition of the Tanjore Quartet. A cornerstone of the Bharatanatyam margam, the varnam brings together the technical demands of nritta with the expressive depth of abhinaya. The composition explores the Nayika’s longing for Lord Shiva. Shweta’s presentation retained the traditional structure of the composition, with the jathis and swara passages providing a contrast to the abhinaya sections that explored the Nayika’s longing. I personally found the abhinaya very nuanced, expressing the nayika’s inner emotions through intentional movement rather than forced emotion. Sometimes, varnams can feel emotionally draining due to the length and repetitive nature, however I found myself drawn to how the nayika was anything but that in nature. She was direct, intentional, and focused her gaze directly at her object of desire.

Shweta continued with Kantimati, a Pillai Tamizh composition set to music by Rajkumar Bharati.Pillai Tamizh is a distinct genre of Tamil devotional poetry that explores the divine through the different stages of childhood, often drawing on the tenderness and intimacy of a maternal relationship. This offered a different dimension of devotional expression within the recital. I particularly enjoyed Shweta’s interpretation of Kantimati, which stood out for its nuance and subtlety of expression. Sometimes abhinaya pieces can feel repetitive after a varnam so the choice to depict a maternal type of love was a beautiful contrast to that of the emotional love portrayed in the piece prior.

This was followed by Sarasamulade, composed by Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar, offering another opportunity to explore the expressive dimensions of the Bharatanatyam repertoire through abhinaya showing the Nayika gently telling her lover to show public displays of affection. Together, the two compositions provided a contrast in the ways devotional and expressive storytelling can be approached. However, I would like to see more variations of emotion explored as the central bhava of love stands across the pieces to add additional depth and nuance to the structure of the show.

One element I found myself thinking about was the role of lighting in the overall production value in shaping the audience’s experience. At times, I found the stage settings, volume, and lighting distracting rather than complementing the show. These features establish the mood of a composition and draw attention to the nuances of the dancer. I would have welcomed a little more focus on these elements to further enhance the overall margam, especially with one person on stage standalone. The venue’s limited lighting capabilities meant that there was a little variation and how the different pieces were visually presented. This raises a broader consideration around the spaces in which Bharatanatyam is performed.

While these elements should never overshadow the dancer, I do think production value deserves strong consideration when presenting a show.

The final sequence, combining Bahudari, set to music by Rithvik Raja and inspired by Karaikudi Mani’s Shrutilaya, with Dikshitar’s Vande Meenakshi, was one of the most memorable parts of the margam for me. Beyond its place as the recital’s conclusion, it created a moment that felt particularly introspective. It brought me back to my own experiences of prayer and devotion, inviting a kind of inward reflection that stayed with me. One gesture in particular captured this beautifully: Shweta first circled a flame around the deity, evoking the familiar ritual of offering ārati, before gently extending the flame toward the audience. I found this especially moving. It felt as though she was carrying the act of offering beyond the deity and sharing it with everyone present, allowing the audience to become part of that moment. It was a thoughtful and beautiful way to close the recital, and one that left me reflecting on the experience even after the performance had ended.

While there is space for further exploration in the pieces chosen, as love was the central emotion across the work, one of my biggest takeaways from the recital was how much I appreciated the sense of cohesion across the margam. As an audience member, it can sometimes feel as though you are experiencing a collection of individual compositions, each with its own character, but not necessarily connected to one another.

But here, there was a sense of continuity between the pieces, with each contributing to a larger artistic journey.

It made me appreciate how meaningful it can be when a margam is brought together in a way that allows the audience to experience it as a complete work, rather than simply a sequence of performances.

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Sai Anbumani is a Bharatanatyam dancer based in the NJ/NYC area. Her practice is shaped through intentional movement, exploring the depth and nuance of technique, rhythm, and expression.